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Adventurers and the Empire

CURRENCY
Aucothia is on the silver standard. What this means is that silver pieces in Aucothia have the same worth as gold pieces in the rulebooks. There are four precious metals in the Empire: copper, bronze, silver, and gold. Platinum simply does not exist in this world. The rates of exchange are as follows:
1 bronze aere (bp) = 10 copper chaluns (cp)
1 silver stater (sp) = 10 bronze aeres (bp)
1 golden auron (gp) = 100 silver staters (sp)
or 1 gp = 100 sp = 1000 bp = 10,000 cp

As per the Player's Handbook, fifty coins weigh one pound regardless of type.

In order to convert a character's starting funds to the silver standard, use the following steps:
1. Purchase all equipment normally at listed prices based on the character having one hundred gold pieces.
2. Determine how many gold pieces, silver pieces, and copper pieces the character has left over.
3. All gold pieces become silver staters.
4. All silver pieces become bronze aeres.
5. All copper pieces become copper chaluns.

Once the campaign begins, every silver stater a character owns will be able to purchase one gold piece's worth of goods in any rulebook, and so on.

LANGUAGES
Languages are as presented in the Player's Handbook. There are ten spoken languages and six scripts. Player characters may not know Supernal or Abyssal at the start of the game.

Common - This is the tongue and script of the Aucothian Empire and the Realm of Erathis.

Deep Speech - Below the surface of Aucothia lie linked subterranean regions commonly referred to as the Underdark. The Deep Speech exists here, but it is rarely encountered in Aucothia itself. Some scholars and dungeoneers know it.

Draconic - This is spoken by the dragonborn, particularly those of the north and the central mountains. It is also the language of the Vodlaian Archipelago.

Dwarven - This language is sometimes heard in dwarven communities, particularly sept villages. It is commonly encountered in the western portion of the Orange Peaks.

Elven - This language is rarely heard in Aucothia, but is the primary tongue of the inhabitants of the Deep Woods.

Giant - Orcs and half-orcs still speak Giant in the Empire.

Goblin - This is the language of the Five Kingdoms, and is used among the goblin races to communicate privately.

Primordial - Like Deep Speech, this language is rarely encountered, save by arcane practitioners who are interested in treating with primordials.

Supernal - The written version of this language might be encountered in the holiest of sacred texts.

Abyssal - The very few gnoll tribes that raid the fringes of the Empire speak Abyssal, as do the sahuagin that haunt the coasts.

ARCANE CLASSES
The pursuit of arcane knowledge is encouraged, not feared, in the Empire. Members of the Arcane classes generally enjoy a decent measure of prestige.

Bards - Bards are highly respected in the Empire, and many enjoy close ties with the Iounic monasteries, whether they subscribe to that faith or not.

Sorcerers - Sorcerers are always unique individuals, though the distinction between them and other arcane practitioners is not usually appreciated by laymen. Sorcerers are generally welcome where other arcane practitioners are, but often find themselves becoming objects of curiosity. More than one sorcerer has been forced to blast an overly-curious host into smithereens before they wound up on a vivisectionist's table.

Warlocks - While a devil might appear in front of anyone and try to strike a bargain, the recorded knowledge of how to form an Infernal Pact is scarce in the Empire, so Infernal Warlocks are relatively rare. Similarly, links to the Feywild tend to be less common than in other lands, limiting the amount of Fey Warlocks. That leaves Star Warlocks as the most commonly-encountered Warlock in the Empire. The knowledge bequeathed by distant stars is faithfully recorded and even eagerly sought after, and many Iounic monasteries double as observatories.

Wizards - Wizards, the most traditional of the Arcane classes, often live near the pinnacle of society. Many aristocrats, especially if they do not have a penchant for fighting, take up the study of magic as dilletantes. There are very few communities that do not count at least one Wizard among the ranks of its leadership.

DIVINE CLASSES
Many aspects of Divine classes are discussed in the thread on deities. The position of a Divine practitioner in society depends on the position of their religion.

Avengers - Not all religions train Avengers and even fewer admit to it. The religions that are most well-known for employing Avengers are the Raven Brotherhood, the Society, and the cult of Grandfather Moradin.

Clerics - Religions that sponsor military orders generally have Clerics serving as officers and leaders of those orders.

Invokers - The personification of deities in Aucothia tends to discourage the formation of Invokers who are rare to start with. An Invoker is more likely to be the result of direct supernatural intervention than the product of a special monastery.

Paladins - Most paladins encountered serve the High Temple. Some are Iounic Seekers or bounty hunters. Paladins appear less often than Clerics, and more commonly work alone or in small groups, as opposed to being found in the ranks of military orders.

MARTIAL CLASSES
Although heroic practitioners of the Martial classes are rare, as all heroes are, Martial classes remain the most commonly-encountered among the class-based NPCs. Martial characters mostly make their way in society through the demonstration of their skills. In the Empire, fighting is usually seen as a distasteful necessity that leads to the breakdown of order, so the treatment of warrior types usually depends on the status of their patron, if any, and the number and ferocity of their fellows.

Fighters - Fighters are particularly common in chartered mercenary companies, serving as churls, and as part of the rebellion.

Rangers - Rangers are found in many of the same roles as Fighters. However, they are also bounty hunters and assassins (though this is explicitly outlawed). Many Raven Brothers are Rangers.

Rogues - Rogues are often employed as bounty hunters and assassins, serving as Iounic Seekers, or involved as part of the rebellion.

Warlords - Warlords often lead groups of other Martial classes.

PRIMAL CLASSES
As stated in the Deities thread, there are two paths to primal power, loosely termed Traditional and Communicant. Traditional Primal class members often live on the fringes of the Empire, sometimes literally on the borders, other times haunting remote locales and marginal lands. Communicants, on the other hand, are very much a direct part of Imperial culture, actively seeking out contact with Primal forces in order to better understand them.

Barbarians - Traditional Barbarians gain their powers from the traditions handed down by the high mountain clans, the tribes that haunt the tundras, or perhaps the seafaring peoples. Communicant Barbarians are nearly always devotees of the Great Master who see communing with spirits as a way towards achieving the strength so cherished by their doctrine.

Druids - Traditional Druids might live in the same societies as Traditional Barbarians, or perhaps they take up the role of reclusive hermits, isolating themselves even from that much contact. Communicant Druids actively seek out the hidden places of nature in order to wheedle power from the inhabitants there. In many ways, they are similar to warlocks in how they go about it, and their beast forms reflect this by being more abstract and chaotic than those of the traditionalists.

Shamans - Traditional Shamans have a position with their people that is similar to how Wizards function in the communities throughout the rest of the Empire. Communicant Shamans often discover totem spirits that look nothing like normal animals. A Shaman of this sort could easily be encountered on the streets of a city, wearing fine robes, and admitting to never having once set foot in a forest.

Wardens - Besides being found in backwards hamlets, Traditional Wardens may occasionally appear in decent-sized towns, where some sensitive and conscientious warriors pay more attention to the half-remembered traditions than their comrades and are rewarded by a visit from the tutelary spirit of the region. While Aucothians generally regard the land with strong possessive instincts, Communicant Wardens are Aucothians whose feelings have elevated into a fierce love. They actively entreat the spirits to bestow upon them the strength to defend the land, and find their passion rewarded.